


The Last Sunset

by nosmokingpistol



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Blood Drinking, Blood and Violence, Character Turned Into Vampire, Dark fic, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 19:58:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13666233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nosmokingpistol/pseuds/nosmokingpistol
Summary: Jack wishes the Doctor could stay with him forever. Be very careful what you wish for.





	The Last Sunset

                                                                  

 

 The Doctor stood by the open shutter of the abandoned house and watched the glow of the fires burning on Chartres. The smoke smelled of fear and death. In the distance he heard screams as his brethren hunted openly, aware that some calamity had befallen their kind and desperate to feed before sunrise. He inhaled deeply, reveling in the heightened senses the change had brought. Once upon a time the Time Lord had considered himself the very pinnacle of evolution. He had been a fool.

He could hear rats as they scurried into the alley behind Madame Baudon’s whorehouse. He could smell the rotting corpse of a dog that had starved to death on Rue Madeleine. He could feel the heat of a sun yet to rise and the pull of a moon not yet set. He could taste the very essence of this night in New Orleans, and it was glorious.

He turned away from the window and inhaled again, closing his eyes as he savored the rich and intoxicating scent of blood.  _Their blood,_ now flowing through the veins of the handsome man who lay slumped across the arm of a faded old settee. A low moan stirred the Doctor from his reverie. He smiled, although not with joy or mirth. He supposed he was no longer capable of such frivolous emotion. Satisfaction? Yes, that was it. He was well satisfied with his new creation.

*** *** ***

Captain Jack Harkness felt as if he were trapped in a pool of half-frozen molasses. He was cold, so very cold and barely able to move. For a long moment he fought against the nausea threatening to overwhelm him. He tried to open his eyes and as he began to perceive the dim glow of oil lamps filtered through dusty chimneys he realized his eyes had been open all along. “ _They must have been open when I died_  “he thought. “ _Did I die? I don’t remember. Why don’t I remember? “_

“You didn’t die Jack—well, not in the conventional sense of the word. I brought you to the brink of death, and at the very moment your heart beat its last I brought you back.”

Jack mind was still fuzzy and the Time Lord’s word’s barely registered. Gradually his head and vision cleared and he could see the man standing before him. The Doctor’s skin was pale and translucent, his features cloaked in shadows. Those eyes that had once gazed upon him with such love now regarded him as objectively as one would a lab rat. The Doctor took another step closer, tilted his head and peered curiously at his companion.

“I heard your thoughts so clearly! Much more clearly than when we fuck, how marvelous! Oh, there’s a thought--I wonder if we’ll still be able to do it? No circulation means no blood flow to the corpora cavernosa. Hmm…I’d rather miss that. I liked fucking you.”

Jack was startled. The Doctor never used that word to describe their lovemaking; he didn’t like Jack using it either. In fact Jack had been surprised to discover that the Doctor was deeply offended by any terms that referred to sex other than as an expression of their love. He felt it was disrespectful and made mockery of the life-bond they had entered into. Jack didn’t agree, but always respected his partner’s wishes in that respect. What the hell had happened to change his mate so fundamentally? It was as if he’d somehow lost his soul.

The Doctor shrugged. “Well… it doesn’t really matter anymore does it? There are more exquisite pleasures waiting for us.” He leered at Jack with an expression akin to lust, but there was no love in that look. No warmth.

“No humanity” Jack croaked, a bit surprised that he had spoken aloud. He was concerned for his Doctor and for himself. Suddenly behind the chill that seemed to extend to the marrow of his bones he began to feel a burning sensation. It hurt. The Doctor leaned in close and Jack’s gorge rose at the stench of fetid breath as the Time Lord trailed his tongue languidly over the spattering of blood on Jack’s cheek. He turned his attention to Jack’s neck and moaned with pleasure as he bit down hard and suckled the open wounds.

“That’s right, my Captain” the Doctor murmured in the same breathy, trembling way he did when Jack would take him deep into his mouth. “No humanity. No guilt. No more saving the Universe, Jack, because the Universe will be ours and oh, the things we’ll do!”

The burning within Jack’s bones intensified and he gasped with pain. The Doctor quickly returned to the window, closed the shutters and drew the heavy fringed draperies. Jack lifted a shaking hand to his chest. His shirt was soaked with blood, some sticky and drying but some indisputably fresh. Concern turned to fear when he saw new blood glistening on the Doctor’s lips.

The Doctor smirked. “Sorry about that! Imminent sunrise takes a bit of getting used to I’m afraid.” He gestured towards the window. “No more romantic strolls at dawn for us, my love!” He looked pensive for a moment. “I still think of you that way, you know. Only it’s so much more, now.” He dropped into the carved mahogany side chair, threw one leg over the side and frowned slightly at the Captain’s obvious distress. “It won’t be long, Jack. I can taste it in you. The change has begun.” Jack felt his heart beat faster as it struggled to circulate blood that was beginning to mutate and thicken, and as he drew a shallow, painful breath he suddenly remembered.

*** *** ***

It had been a bad day. The nuclear forces treaty between Jasik and its sister planet Jasok had been brokered and the Doctor had mediated the formal negotiations. Jack had been in charge of the more informal activities and had successfully charmed the various members of their respective arms committees. Jasik’s Lower Regent, however, had not been pleased to learn that Jack was in fact bonded to the Doctor and in a fit of jealousy had wrapped three of her appendages around the Doctor’s neck. When Jack intervened she turned her attention to him and threw him out of the nearest tower window. Jack died upon impact and the Regent had been summarily vaporized by her superiors. The Doctor hastily declined the Jasikan Funerary Pageant and had spirited Jack’s body back to the TARDIS before he could resurrect and render the Regent’s execution moot.

Jack had come back no worse for wear and ready for the next adventure. The Doctor, on the other hand, had piloted the TARDIS immediately into the Vortex where she now idled. He always took Jack’s deaths badly and as usual he had been full of self-recrimination, guilt and anger. He had paced like a madman until Jack had calmed him and led him to their bed. Later, sated and exhausted, they had both slept. Jack awoke to find himself alone, and found the Doctor in the library sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the fire. He looked up when Jack entered the room.

“I hate it when you die for me” he snapped before returning his gaze to the flames. Jack dropped down on the floor behind him and enfolded him in his arms, saying nothing. The Doctor leaned back against Jack’s broad chest and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I hate seeing you dead, even when I know you’ll come back. I hate seeing your body broken and bleeding, knowing the pain you must have suffered. Most of all—“He paused, and when he continued his voice was barely a whisper. “Most of all I hate knowing that it should have been me.”

“Shh, it’s okay” Jack murmured, and held the Doctor close. He rested his chin on that thick mane of hair he loved so much and chuckled softly. “You’ve got it all wrong. I don’t die for you, Doctor; I’m too much of a coward for that!” The Doctor snorted.

“Jack Harkness you’re the bravest man I know.”

“Hush now, let me finish. I’ve loved you for a long time, Doctor. I’ve loved you so much, but I knew you didn’t feel the same way about me. Oh, you liked me—maybe even respected me—but you couldn’t love me, not the way I wanted you to.”

“I’m sor—“

“Shut up! It’s okay, because now there’s  _you_. And I don’t ever want to lose you. When we’re together Doctor it’s  _so right_. When we make love and I’m in your mind I feel how much you love me and it takes my breath away. For the first time since I lost my family I’m happy.” Jack fought hard against the tears that threatened to overflow. “I die for you because I’m afraid of what my life would be like without you.”

The Doctor shifted and rested his head against Jacks shoulder. “I will always love you Jack. The bond we share will follow me through all of my regenerations.”

“One day you’ll run out of them. You can spend all of your lives with me, Doctor. But I can’t spend my whole life with you.” The Doctor frowned. He had said similar words to someone once. He hadn’t realized how painful it was to hear them. He reached up and cupped Jack’s cheek before kissing him tenderly.

“Jack, I promise you—if there were a way to change that I would.”

*** *** ***

After the Jasik debacle and a few days lolling about in the Time Vortex the Doctor was antsy to be up and doing. Jack suggested a river cruise along the Mississippi—a little gambling, good liquor and great food. The Doctor much preferred a trip to the Corasian Raptor compound for a photo safari but Jack won out and the Doctor set the controls for New Orleans. Unfortunately Jack had not specified a year in which the luxury cruises he had in mind were actually running and they found themselves on Big Muddy in 1817, standing in a pole barge that was transporting slaves up river. Needless to say both men had a thing or two to say to the owner, who may have suddenly found himself without his African cargo as well as his purse full of gold coins.

They decided to stay for a day or two and enjoy some Creole cuisine, but that evening on the way to Gautreau’s establishment Jack ducked into an alley to relieve himself and when he returned the Doctor had vanished. The TARDIS was able to pinpoint his location inside a private residence and began to self-program the coordinates, but Jack decided to strike out on foot and made his way down Chartres to the house. There was subdued light behind a few of the parlor windows so he crept around to the back and in through the servant’s entry. The smell of decay was overwhelming and in the moonlight he could make out the corpses of the home’s rightful owners, their children, and their house slaves piled unceremoniously in the corner.

Gun drawn, he worked his way towards the front of the house. He could hear voices, perhaps three or four males and a women’s soft laughter. Beneath it all was the sound of another man, moaning in pain. It was the Doctor. Enraged, he cursed himself for not bringing a blaster and burst into the room. The tableau before him brought him up short. Two pale, stylish men at a side table played chess while another sat nearby sketching them. The woman was young, beautiful and exquisitely dressed, with translucent alabaster skin. She was seated on a fainting couch delicately sipping blood from a small tulip glass. Beside her sprawled the Doctor. He was semiconscious, and there were two oozing puncture marks on his neck.

The artist looked up and smiled, baring two gleaming white fangs. “What took you so long? We heard you prowling through the house, you naughty thing. And don’t you look delicious!”

The Captain opened fire immediately and with deadly accuracy hit each target in the head. They seemed completely unaffected by the bullets and merely looked annoyed. Within seconds their wounds had closed. Before Jack could register the implications the chess players moved at inhuman speed and restrained him in grips of iron. The woman stood and graciously curtsied.

“Welcome to my home, Monsieur. I am the Mistress Aurore.” She gestured vaguely to his captors. “Put him in the holding pen. It’s almost dawn--” She looked down at the Doctor, who was struggling to speak. “—and I haven’t finished with this charming man yet. I may just make him my new pet.” One of the males snarled in protest and was immediately silenced by a glare from Aurore. Jack struggled, cursing, but it was useless. Something struck the back of his head and he was out cold.

When Jack regained consciousness he found himself gagged with filthy rags and chained to the stone wall of a musty, damp root cellar. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness he could make out an empty row of manacles beside him. A dozen feet in front of him were four tapered wooden boxes. He could hear muffled sounds coming from them as if their occupants were deeply asleep and dreaming. Next to the boxes was a steamer trunk from which similar noises emanated—only this time the sounds were very familiar. Jack knew all too well the cries of the Doctor in his nightmares.

He struggled against his restraints and screamed the Doctor’s name until, exhausted, he slumped as far as the chains would allow. His throat was parched and raw and he had nearly dislocated one shoulder trying to pull the retention spike out of the wall. He had never felt so desolate, not even on the Valiant. This new enemy was powerful, ruthless, and seemingly immortal. If he didn’t know better he’d say they were vampires—but surely vampires were only a myth! They must be an alien race of haemovores come to wreak havoc on the Earth, and Earth’s greatest defenders were themselves defenseless. Powerless and afraid for his Doctor, he had wept silently until he was unable to stay awake any longer and fell into a deep and troubled sleep.

*** *** ***

A loud crash and the sound of splintering wood from above woke him. Unearthly high pitched shrieks of torment and damnation froze him to the core. He peered into the darkness. The boxes and the trunk had been thrown open, and Jack was alone in the cellar. He heard someone walking slowly down the cellar steps and tensed, not knowing who or what to expect. When he saw the Doctor come into his vision he felt light-headed with relief.

The Doctor stood before Jack, examining every detail of his face as if he were seeing him for the first time. He drew closer, staring into Jack’s eyes. Jack felt suddenly frozen in place, unable to move. He could only stare into eyes that seemed to have a fiery red glow in their depths. The Doctor reached up and removed the gag before placing his hands on either side of Jack’s head. Jack felt him enter his mind as he had so many times, but the mind that touched his now was frightening in its power and dispassion. Gradually the fear dissipated and Jack felt at peace as the Doctor’s will overcame any resistance.

The Doctor lowered his hands and, keeping his gaze on Jack, reached into his pocket for the sonic. He pointed it at the shackles holding Jack and they fell to the floor. Jack lowered his arms and the Doctor took him into an embrace. “You are my mate,” he said. “And you want me to be with you forever.”

“Yes Doctor,” Jack whispered.

“Then I shall be, Jack.” The Doctor lowered his mouth to Jack’s neck and Jack felt a moment’s pain as the Doctor’s fangs ejected and entered his jugular vein. He could feel the rhythm of his pulse as the Doctor drank of his blood, all the while moaning with pleasure. He felt his heart beat more slowly as he exsanguinated. He knew he was dying, as he had so many times before--but this death was different from the others. This death was as it should be, for he belonged to the Doctor and he willingly gave himself over.

He was limp in the Doctor’s arms, hovering moments from death. “You are mine,” the Doctor murmured as he used one long, razor-sharp fingernail to slice a deep gash over one of his hearts, “and I am yours.” He cradled Jack’s head and guided it to his chest. Jack had felt desire more times than he could count, but he’d never experienced a primal lust for anything as he felt now. The scent of the blood was intoxicating. It was all he needed or would ever need.

He lapped at it eagerly and then opened his mouth over the pulsing wound. He sucked and swallowed with increasing urgency as waves of pleasure coursed through him. He felt the blood fill him to his very core as he assimilated it. Every cell, every atom of his body was given over to the essence of the Doctor and he cried out even as he continued to drink. Far too soon the Doctor pushed Jack firmly away and the flesh of the Time Lord’s chest healed almost immediately.

The Captain’s head was spinning and he began to fall. The Doctor scooped him into his arms effortlessly and carried him up the stairs. As they entered the parlor he saw the bodies of the three male vamps; staked by broken chair legs they were already putrefying. Aurore was backed against a wall, snarling and clawing at the array of holographic crucifixes that encircled her. She glared at the Doctor. “I am your progenitor--if you kill me, you will die too!”

“I know,” the Doctor replied. “and you will wish I had.” He deposited Jack on the fainting couch and tore the vortex manipulator from his wrist. Jack watched as the Doctor used the sonic to reconfigure the device. “There’s a small planet in the outer orbit of a star three galaxies from here. It’s uninhabited—always has been, always will be. The sun is just a tiny pinpoint in its sky. No light reaches it. It’s in a permanent, frozen night.” He pocketed the sonic and took a few steps towards the array. He smiled malevolently. “You will never die, Aurore. But you will always be awake and you will always be starving. Forever.”

Aurore screamed as he threw the vortex manipulator into the holographic circle. With a blinding flash of light she was gone, and the crucifixes had disappeared. “Bon appétit,” the Doctor growled as he retrieved the manipulator and tucked it into his pocket. He returned to Jack and hoisted the now unconscious Captain over his shoulder. As he left the room he threw one of the glowing oil lamps to the floor. It shattered and fire spread across the silken carpet. Within minutes the house was engulfed in flames.

*** *** ***

“I remember, Doctor,” Jack gasped, “I remember it all.”

“Ah! Then you know what you are becoming.” The Doctor smiled over steepled fingers.

“Yes. A monster!” He struggled to stand but his legs would not support him. “Doctor, kill me! Behead me or...or stake me through the heart, whatever you’re supposed to do to kill vampires but please, do it now!”

The Doctor was genuinely perplexed. “Why would I do that?”

“When I come back—“ Jack groaned and fell back against the cushions as another wave of searing heat tore through his bones. “When I come back I’ll be well! I’ll be human! We’ll go to Torchwood, find a cure for you! I’ll make you better, Doctor, I promise!”

The Doctor laughed mirthlessly. “ _Make me better_ ” he mocked. “You already have! To put it more accurately we’ve made each other better. I drank of your blood Jack, and I assimilated it. The essence of the Time Vortex that makes you immortal is in me now. It has incorporated itself into the very atoms of the Time Lord and Vampire genomes, and they have become one.”

“No…Doctor, no… _please_ …” Jack could barely speak as the pain became unbearable. With the first light of dawn outside the covered window he felt himself slipping away.

The Doctor stood, throwing aside the chair like so much tinder. He hovered menacingly over Jack. “You drank of  _me_ , Jack. You’re assimilating the new genome even as we speak. A new species! The mind, the genius of a Time Lord, unencumbered by conscience or guilt or morality _—and immortal._ “He pressed his face close to Jack’s and when the other man tried to turn away he reached out one hand and held him in a steely grip. “You and I, together always. But not alone, Jack. Oh, no. Our friends, our families will join us! Think of it! We can go back in time, before they die, before they’re lost, before they forget!”

Jack was sobbing, now, and unashamed. He fully grasped the horror of the Doctor’s plan and knew he was helpless to stop it. He cried for his own identity, his own humanity, soon to be lost. He could feel the change accelerating within him, and try as he might he could no longer fight it. The Doctor moved his hand to Jack’s temple and his expression softened a bit.

“Oh, my Jack. My Captain. You are so tired and in so much pain. It’s time to rest, now.”

“Yes.” Jack closed his eyes. “ _That’s better_ ,” he thought.  _They_  thought.

“We will sleep.”

“ _Sleep.”_

“And when we awaken we will find them. Ianto and Adric. Our children, our grandchildren. The Rani and The Master. Owen and Tosh. Donna, Rose, Amy, River—all of them!  _We will re-create them in our image and we will go forth into the Universe! ”_

_“Yes.”_

Captain Jack Harkness silently marked the passing of his last sunrise, and slept. With the sunset would come a new man, and a new Creation.

And it was  _good_.


End file.
